Solid electrolyte laminate, method for manufacturing solid electrolyte laminate, and fuel cell

ABSTRACT

Provided is a solid electrolyte laminate comprising a solid electrolyte layer having proton conductivity and a cathode electrode layer laminated on one side of the solid electrolyte layer and made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC). Also provided is a method for manufacturing the solid electrolyte. This solid electrolyte laminate can further comprise an anode electrode layer made of nickel-yttrium doped barium zirconate (Ni—BZY). This solid electrolyte laminate is suitable for a fuel cell operating in an intermediate temperature range less than or equal to 600° C.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention of the present application relates to a solid electrolyte laminate, a method for manufacturing a solid electrolyte laminate, and a fuel cell. Specifically, the invention relates to a solid electrolyte laminate that can offer high efficiency in a fuel cell operating in an intermediate temperature range less than or equal to 600° C. and that can be easily manufactured, a method for manufacturing the solid electrolyte laminate, and a fuel cell.

BACKGROUND ART

A solid oxide fuel cell (hereinafter referred to as “SOFC”) is highly efficient and does not require an expensive catalyst such as platinum. On the other hand, since its operating temperature is as high as 800° C. to 1000° C., a problem arises in that a structural material such as an interconnector is likely to be degraded.

To solve the above-described problem, an intermediate temperature operating SOFC having a lowered operating temperature less than or equal to 600° C. has been expected. At low operating temperatures, however, efficiency is decreased, so that predetermined power generation performance cannot be ensured disadvantageously. Therefore, a solid electrolyte exhibiting high efficiency even at low operating temperatures and being capable of ensuring predetermined power generation performance has been required.

As a solid electrolyte, one having oxygen ion conductivity or proton conductivity is employed. In the case of employing a solid electrolyte having oxygen ion conductivity, the oxygen ion is bonded to hydrogen to produce water at a fuel electrode. This water dilutes fuel to decrease efficiency disadvantageously.

On the other hand, a solid electrolyte having proton conductivity such as yttrium-doped barium zirconate (hereinafter referred to as “BZY”) can achieve high proton conductivity at low temperatures since activation energy for charge transfer is low, and is expected as a solid electrolyte material as an alternative to the above-described solid electrolyte having oxygen ion conductivity. In the case of employing the solid electrolyte having proton conductivity, the above-described problem encountered in the solid electrolyte having oxygen ion conductivity does not occur.

CITATION LIST Patent Document

PTD 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-307546

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

For the above-described intermediate temperature operating SOFC, in order to ensure power generation performance, an electrode material made of platinum (Pt) having high electrical conductivity, lanthanum strontium manganese oxide (LSM) or the like is often employed for a cathode electrode (air electrode).

The above-described Pt, however, is very expensive. The use of the above-described LSM may increase an overvoltage, which makes it difficult to ensure required power generation performance.

On the other hand, lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) used as a cathode electrode material in an oxygen ion conducting fuel cell of YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) or the like is suitable for use as a cathode electrode in the above-described fuel cell because of its higher electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity than those of the above-described LSM. LSC, however, has small thermodynamic stability in a reducing atmosphere, and depending on the type of a solid electrolyte layer to be laminated, characteristics as a cathode are often degraded by a product of a reaction with the solid electrolyte. Moreover, internal stress is likely to be produced within an LSC film formed by a solid phase method. Therefore, problems arise in that detachment from electrodes and cracks are likely to occur, and it is difficult to form a cathode electrode layer (air electrode).

On the other hand, the above-described yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY) having proton conductivity has excellent chemical stability, but is disadvantageous in that sinterability is poor as a polycrystalline material and in that the ratio of grain boundary is large because of its small crystal grains, which inhibits proton conductivity and decreases the total electric conductivity. Therefore, the above-described BZY has not been effectively utilized so far.

In particular, if the doped amount of yttrium is less than or equal to 10 mol %, crystal grains are difficult to grow at the time of sintering. Thus, the grain boundary surface density increases to increase the resistance. If this is utilized for a fuel cell, power generation performance will be decreased.

On the other hand, if more than or equal to 15 mol % of yttrium is doped, it will be difficult to uniformly dissolve yttrium in a dispersed manner. Therefore, in the temperature range of 200° C. to 400° C., a phenomenon will occur in which relaxation of a non-equilibrium phase occurs to change the coefficient of thermal expansion.

FIG. 4 shows changes in lattice constant of solid electrolytes having different amounts of yttrium doped, with respect to temperature changes. As shown in this drawing, in the case where yttrium is not doped, the rate of change in lattice constant with respect to temperature changes is substantially constant, and the lattice constant increases as a linear function along a linear graph having a predetermined gradient. On the other hand, as the doped amount of yttrium is increased, the lattice constant with respect to an identical temperature increases at a certain ratio, and in a temperature range around 400° C., a region appears in which the lattice constant greatly increases in value deviating from the vicinity of the straight line of the linear function. The above-described region where the lattice constant greatly increases appears when the doped amount of yttrium exceeds 15 mol %, and becomes remarkable at 20 mol %. This is presumed because relaxation of the non-equilibrium phase has occurred in the temperature range around 400° C.

It is noted that the above-described lattice constant is calculated by the Rietveld analysis from a high-temperature XRD measurement result.

Since the lattice constant represents the length of each side of unit lattice of crystal, the coefficient of thermal expansion will change in accordance with the above-described changes in lattice constant. That is, when the doped amount of yttrium is increased, the coefficient of thermal expansion greatly changes in the region around 400° C. In the case of using the above-described solid electrolyte for a fuel cell, electrode layers are laminated on the both sides of a thin-film solid electrolyte layer. The materials constituting the above-described electrode layers have substantially constant coefficients of thermal expansion, and thermally expand in proportion to the temperature. Therefore, in the case of employing a solid electrolyte having a large doped amount of yttrium, large shearing force is produced around 400° C. at the interface in a laminate formed by laminating the above-described solid electrolyte and the above-described electrode materials, raising problems in that cracks occur in the solid electrolyte layer and the electrode layers are detached. As a result, yields in the manufacturing process and durability of fuel cell cannot be ensured disadvantageously.

The invention of the present application was devised to solve the above-described problems, and has an object to provide a proton conductive solid electrolyte laminate having good compatibility with a solid electrolyte layer having proton conductivity and having a cathode electrode layer made of inexpensive LSC employed therein, and to provide a solid electrolyte laminate that solves the above-described problems encountered in a solid electrolyte layer formed from yttrium-doped barium zirconate containing a large doped amount of yttrium and that offers high efficiency at an operating temperature less than or equal to 600° C. by combination with the above-described cathode electrode layer made of LSC.

Solution to Problem

The invention defined in claim 1 of the present application relates to a solid electrolyte laminate including a solid electrolyte layer having proton conductivity, and a cathode electrode layer laminated on one side of the above-described solid electrolyte layer and made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC).

The solid electrolyte laminate according to the invention of the present application is a combination of a solid electrolyte layer having proton conductivity and offering high power generation efficiency at an operating temperature less than or equal to 600° C. and a cathode electrode made of inexpensive, high-performance LSC.

The above-described LSC has conventionally been used as a cathode electrode of oxygen ion conducting fuel cells in many cases, and has not been used for fuel cells including a proton conductive solid electrolyte layer.

Inventors of the invention of the present application explored various electrode materials in order to develop cathode electrode materials suitable for fuel cells including a proton conductive solid electrolyte. As a consequence, they found out that the use of the above-described LSC as a cathode electrode resulted in high power generation performance, thereby yielding the invention of the present application.

Optimum electrode materials for an oxygen ion conducting fuel cell and a proton conductive fuel cell are basically different because different electrode reactions occur in these fuel cells. The reason why the above-described LSC is used for oxygen ion conducting fuel cells is considered because oxygen vacancy of these materials results in good oxygen ion conductivity and electronic conductivity.

Although the factor that the above-described LSC can exert high performance when used as a cathode electrode of a proton conductive fuel cell has not been clarified, it is considered because surface diffusion of proton in the cathode electrode becomes dominant in a cathode reaction in the proton conductive fuel cell, and the above-described LSC serves favorably as a cathode electrode material.

Preferably, a solid electrolyte formed from yttrium-doped barium zirconate (hereinafter, BZY) is employed as the above-described proton conductive solid electrolyte. A solid electrolyte layer made of BZY according to the invention of the present application is adjusted such that the above-described doped amount of yttrium is 15 mol % to 20 mol % (more than or equal to 15 mol % and less than or equal to 20 mol %), and the rate of increase in lattice constant of the above-described solid electrolyte at 100° C. to 1000° C. (more than or equal to 100° C. and less than or equal to 1000° C.) with respect to temperature changes is substantially constant.

In the invention of the present application, the doped amount of yttrium is set at 15 mol % to 20 mol %. Accordingly, high proton conductivity can be ensured, and sinterability can be improved.

If the above-described doped amount of yttrium is less than 15 mol %, changes in coefficient of thermal expansion will be relatively small, so that the problem due to thermal expansion will be less likely to occur. However, in order to improve sinterability and ensure proton conductivity in the above-described intermediate temperature range, it is preferable to set the doped amount of yttrium at more than or equal to 15 mol %. On the other hand, if the above-described doped amount of yttrium exceeds 20 mol %, it will be difficult to uniformly blend yttrium in a dispersed manner.

Furthermore, in the solid electrolyte according to the invention of the present application, the rate of increase in lattice constant at 100° C. to 1000° C. with respect to temperature changes is made substantially constant. That is, relaxation of the non-equilibrium phase does not occur in the above-described temperature range, and the coefficient of thermal expansion is held substantially constant. Therefore, in the step of laminating electrode layers and the like, occurrence of cracks that would be caused by changes in coefficient of thermal expansion can be prevented, and the electrode layers are unlikely to be detached. Herein, the expression “substantially constant” means that, when plotting the lattice constant with respect to the temperature in the temperature range more than or equal to 100° C. and less than or equal to 1000° C. to create a scatter plot, the lattice constant increases as a linear function and does not exhibit specific changes around 400° C.

Particularly, in the invention of the present application, LSC is employed as a cathode electrode material. Although LSC is likely to cause detachment from a solid electrolyte and cracks as described above, such problems will not occur because the coefficient of thermal expansion is adjusted to be constant in the solid electrolyte layer according to the invention of the present application.

The rate of increase in lattice constant of the above-described solid electrolyte at 100° C. to 1000° C. with respect to temperature changes is preferably set at 3.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C. to 4.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C. (more than or equal to 3.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C. and less than or equal to 4.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C.). By setting the rate of increase in lattice constant at the above-described range, it becomes possible to set the coefficient of thermal expansion at a predetermined range. It is more preferable to set the above-described rate of increase in lattice constant such that the average coefficient of thermal expansion at 100° C. to 1000° C. becomes 5×10⁻⁶(1/K) to 9.8×10⁻⁶(1/K).

The sintering temperature after molding the solid electrolyte according to the invention of the present application as a thin film and laminating the above-described electrode materials on this thin-film solid electrolyte is approximately 1000° C. Therefore, by setting the lattice constant at 100° C. to 1000° C. at the above-described values, a great difference in thermal expansion amount between the solid electrolyte layer and the electrode layers will not occur in the step of sintering the electrode layers, which can effectively prevent cracks and detachment from occurring.

Preferably, the mean diameter of crystal grains of the above-described solid electrolyte is set at more than or equal to 1 μm.

As described above, when the mean diameter of crystal grains of the solid electrolyte is decreased, the grain boundary surface density increases to increase the resistance, and proton conductivity is reduced. By setting the mean diameter of crystal grains at more than or equal to 1 μm, the above-described problems can be avoided. It is noted that the mean diameter of crystal grains is preferably less than or equal to 30 μm from the viewpoint of film thickness. Herein, the mean diameter of crystal grains refers to an arithmetic mean value of an equivalent diameter of a circle that has the same area as the projected area measured for 100 crystal grains in an observation visual field when monitoring a surface (or a cross section) of a solid electrolyte as a compact by electron microscope under a magnification of ×1000 to ×5000.

Preferably, the lattice constant of the solid electrolyte at room temperature (30° C.) is set at 4.218 Å to 4.223 Å (more than or equal to 4.218 Å and less than or equal to 4.223 Å).

The lattice constant at room temperature is correlated with the doped amount of yttrium and the change in lattice constant around 400° C. Therefore, by setting the lattice constant at room temperature at the above-described range, the lattice constant around 400° C. can be estimated to grasp the coefficient of thermal expansion of the solid electrolyte. Moreover, when sintering the laminated electrode layers, detachment and the like can be prevented.

Proton conductivity of the solid electrolyte at 400° C. to 800° C. (more than or equal to 400° C. and less than or equal to 800° C.) is set at 1 mS/cm to 60 mS/cm (more than or equal to 1 mS/cm and less than or equal to 60 mS/cm). Since the above-described proton conductivity can be ensured in the above-described temperature range, it becomes possible to ensure required power generation performance in an intermediate temperature range when implementing a fuel cell.

The above-described LSC is employed as a cathode electrode of a solid electrolyte laminate according to the invention of the present application. On the other hand, it is preferable to provide an anode electrode laminated on the other side of the above-described solid electrolyte layer and made of nickel-yttrium doped barium zirconate (hereinafter, Ni—BZY). Ni has high catalytic activity as a reduction catalyst. By adding Ni to the above-described BZY, a solid electrolyte laminate that can offer high performance can be formed. It is noted that, besides the above-described Ni—BZY, Ni—Fe alloy or Pd can be employed as the cathode electrode.

The above-described solid electrolyte laminate is manufactured by a manufacturing method including the following steps. Specifically, a first grinding step of mixing and grinding BaCO₃, ZrO₂ and Y₂O₃, a first heat treatment step of heat treating a mixture (first mixture) having undergone the above-described grinding at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time, a second grinding step of grinding the mixture (first mixture) having undergone the above-described first heat treatment step again, a first compression molding step of compression molding the mixture (second mixture) having undergone the above-described second grinding step, a second heat treatment step of heat treating a compact (first compact) having undergone the above-described compression molding at a predetermined temperature, a third grinding step of grinding the compact (first compact) having undergone the above-described second heat treatment step, a second compression molding step of compression molding a ground product having undergone the above-described third grinding step, a solid electrolyte sintering step of heat treating a compact (second compact) molded by the above-described second compression molding step at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. (more than or equal to 1400° C. and less than or equal to 1600° C.) for at least 20 hours in an oxygen atmosphere, a third heat treatment step of holding a sintered compact having undergone the above-described solid electrolyte sintering step at a temperature lower than in the above-described solid electrolyte sintering step for a predetermined time, a cathode electrode material laminating step of laminating an electrode material made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) on one side of the sintered compact having undergone the above-described third heat treatment step, an anode electrode material laminating step of laminating an electrode material made of nickel-yttrium doped barium zirconate (Ni—BZY) on the other side of the sintered compact having undergone the above-described third heat treatment step, and an electrode material sintering step of heating to a temperature higher than a sintering temperature of the above-described electrode materials are included.

The blending amount of above-described BaCO₃, ZrO₂ and Y₂O₃ is not particularly limited. For example, when the above-described doped amount of yttrium is set at 15 mol %, a material containing 62 wt % of BaCO₃, 33 wt % of ZrO₂ and 5 wt % of Y₂O₃ mixed therein can be employed.

In the invention of the present application, a solid electrolyte sintered compact is formed by a solid phase reaction method. The technique for carrying out the above-described grinding steps is not particularly limited. For example, the grinding steps can be carried out by already-known ball milling. For example, as the first grinding step and the second grinding step, ball milling can be carried out for about 24 hours. Although the ground grain size after the above-described grinding steps is not particularly limited, grinding is preferably performed such that the mean particle diameter is less than or equal to 355 μm.

The above-described first heat treatment step can be carried out by, for example, holding at 1000° C. for about 10 hours in an atmosphere, and the above-described second heat treatment step can be carried out by holding at 1300° C. for about 10 hours in an atmosphere.

The technique for carrying out the above-described compression molding steps is also not particularly limited. For example, a ground material can be molded uniaxially to form a predetermined compact. The above-described compression molding steps are to uniformly mix the respective blended components in a dispersed manner. As long as grinding can be performed easily, the form of compact is not particularly limited. For example, a cylindrical die having a diameter of 20 mm is used, and a compressive force of 10 MPa is applied in the axial direction, so that a disc-like compact can be formed.

By heat treating the above-described compact at about 1300° C. for about 10 hours, the second heat treatment step of dissolving each component powder to form a material in which the above-described respective components have been uniformly dispersed is carried out. Thereafter, the third grinding step of grinding the compact having undergone the above-described second heat treatment step is carried out. To uniformly mix the above-described respective component powders in a dispersed manner, it is desirable to repeatedly carry out the above-described first compression molding step, the second heat treatment step and the above-described third grinding step in this order. Accordingly, a material in which the respective components have been uniformly dissolved in a dispersed manner can be formed. Whether the above-described respective component powders have been uniformly dispersed can be confirmed with an X-ray diffractometer (XRD).

Next, a second compression molding step of compression molding the ground product having undergone the above-described third grinding step is carried out. The above-described second compression molding step can be carried out by adding a binder such as ethyl cellulose and compression molding the above-described ground product. The above-described second compression molding step is to mold the above-described ground product into the form of a solid electrolyte layer, and for example, the product can be molded into a disc having predetermined thickness.

Next, by carrying out the sintering step of heat treating the above-described compact at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. for at least 20 hours in an oxygen atmosphere, a required solid electrolyte sintered compact can be obtained.

The lattice constant of the solid electrolyte obtained through the above-described steps exhibits specific changes in the temperature range around 400° C. as described above. Therefore, in the invention of the present application, the third heat treatment step of holding the above-described solid electrolyte sintered compact at a temperature lower than in the above-described sintering step for a predetermined time is carried out.

The above-described third heat treatment step is not particularly limited as long as characteristics which will not cause changes in lattice constant can be imparted to the above-described solid electrolyte sintered compact. For example, the above-described third heat treatment step can be carried out by holding at a temperature of 400° C. to 1000° C. (more than or equal to 400° C. and less than or equal to 1000° C.) for 5 hours to 30 hours (more than or equal to 5 hours and less than or equal to 30 hours).

By carrying out the above-described third heat treatment step, the lattice constant does not specifically change in the temperature range around 400° C., so that the rate of increase in lattice constant at 100° C. to 1000° C. with respect to temperature changes can be made substantially constant.

The above-described third heat treatment step can be carried out after cooling the above-described solid electrolyte sintered compact to ordinary temperature after the above-described sintering step. Alternatively, the above-described sintering step and the above-described third heat treatment step can be carried out sequentially.

The cathode electrode material laminating step of laminating an electrode material made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) on one side of the solid electrolyte sintered compact having undergone the above-described third heat treatment step is carried out.

The cathode electrode material laminating step can be carried out by dissolving the above-described cathode electrode material in the form of powder into a solvent to obtain a paste and applying the paste on the one side of the solid electrolyte sintered compact by screen printing or the like.

An anode electrode material laminating step of laminating an electrode material made of nickel-yttrium doped barium zirconate (Ni—BZY) on the other side of the solid electrolyte sintered compact having undergone the above-described third heat treatment step is carried out.

The anode electrode material laminating step can be carried out by grinding and mixing powder made of NiO and BZY with a ball mill and then dissolving it in a solvent to form paste, and applying the paste to the other side of the above-described solid electrolyte sintered compact by screen printing or the like.

Either of the above-described cathode electrode material laminating step and the above-described anode electrode material laminating step may be carried out first.

After terminating the above-described cathode electrode material laminating step and the above-described anode electrode material laminating step, an electrode material sintering step of heating to or above a sintering temperature of the above-described electrode materials is carried out.

The above-described electrode material sintering step can be carried out in such a manner as to sinter the both electrodes simultaneously after terminating the above-described cathode electrode material laminating step and the above-described anode electrode material laminating step, or can be carried out separately after each of the above-described cathode electrode material laminating step and the above-described anode electrode material laminating step.

In the above-described manufacturing method, the disc-like sintered compact constituting the solid electrolyte layer is first formed, and the electrode layers are laminated on this disc-like sintered compact serving as a support member, however, the manufacturing method is not limited to the above-described method.

For example, a technique for first forming a compact constituting the anode electrode, and successively laminating the above-described solid electrolyte layer and the above-described cathode electrode layer on this anode electrode compact serving as a support member can be employed.

The above-described anode electrode compact can be formed by an anode electrode material preparing step of mixing Ni with BZY synthesized from BaCO₃, ZrO₂, and Y₂O₃, and an anode electrode molding step of compression molding the above-described anode electrode material to form an anode electrode compact to be the anode electrode layer. Since the above-described anode electrode serves as a support member, its thickness is set at approximately 1 mm.

The technique for laminating the solid electrolyte layer on the above-described anode electrode compact can be achieved as follows. That is, similarly to the above-described manufacturing method, the above-described first grinding step, the above-described first heat treatment step, the above-described second grinding step, the above-described first compression molding step, the above-described second heat treatment step, and the above-described third grinding step are carried out to form a ground product of BZY.

Next, a paste forming step of forming the above-described ground product into paste, and a solid electrolyte laminating step of laminating the above-described ground product formed into paste on one side of the above-described anode electrode compact are carried out. Since the above-described solid electrolyte laminate does not serve as a support member, its thickness can be set at 10 μm to 100 μm.

Then, an anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step of heat treating the laminate (first laminate) molded in the above-described solid electrolyte laminating step at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. for at least 20 hours in an oxygen atmosphere, and a third heat treatment step of holding the laminate having undergone the above-described anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step at a temperature lower than in the above-described anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step for a predetermined time are carried out.

A cathode electrode material laminating step of laminating a cathode electrode material made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) on one side of a thin-film solid electrolyte having undergone the above-described third heat treatment step, and a cathode electrode sintering step of heating to or above a sintering temperature of the above-described cathode electrode material are carried out. It is noted that the cathode electrode material laminating step and the cathode electrode sintering step can be carried out similarly to the above-described method. Through these steps, the above-described solid electrolyte laminate can also be formed.

In the above-described solid electrolyte layer according to the invention of the present application, the rate of change in lattice constant with respect to temperature changes is substantially constant, and the coefficient of thermal expansion will not change in accordance with the temperature. Therefore, cracks in the above-described solid electrolyte layer or the above-described electrode layers and detachment of the above-described electrode layers will not occur.

In particular, according to the invention of the present application, cracks in or detachment of the cathode electrode layer will not occur because the coefficient of thermal expansion of the above-described solid electrolyte layer is adjusted although LSC which is likely to cause cracks and the like is employed as the above-described cathode electrode material. Electrode layers having high bondability to the solid electrolyte layer can thus be provided.

In the invention of the present application, since the above-described solid electrolyte has undergone the third heat treatment, the rate of increase in lattice constant with respect to temperature changes is constant in the temperature range of 100° C. to 1000° C., and accordingly, the coefficient of thermal expansion is also constant. It is therefore possible to sinter the solid electrolyte layer and the electrode layers without causing strain and the like. Moreover, since internal stress and the like can be restrained from occurring, a solid electrolyte laminate having high durability can be formed.

The solid electrolyte according to the invention of the present application is suitable for various types of fuel cells used in a temperature range less than or equal to 600° C., but can also be utilized for fuel cells used in a temperature range more than or equal to 600° C.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

A solid electrolyte laminate that can offer high power generation efficiency in an intermediate temperature range less than or equal to 600° C. can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an example of a solid electrolyte laminate according to the invention of the present application.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of the solid electrolyte laminate shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows changes in lattice constant of a solid electrolyte according to the invention of the present application having undergone a heat treatment and a solid electrolyte not having undergone a heat treatment, with respect to temperature changes.

FIG. 4 shows changes in lattice constant of solid electrolytes having different amounts of yttrium doped, with respect to the temperature.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a sintering step and a third heat treatment step according to the invention of the present application.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the sintering step and the third heat treatment step according to the invention of the present application.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of performance of the solid electrolyte laminate according to the invention of the present application.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing an essential part of another embodiment of the solid electrolyte laminate according to the invention of the present application.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of a manufacturing process of the solid electrolyte laminate according to the invention of the present application.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing another example of a manufacturing process of the solid electrolyte laminate according to the invention of the present application.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the invention of the present application will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a solid electrolyte laminate 1 constituting a fuel cell is configured to include a solid electrolyte layer 2, an anode electrode layer 3 laminated on one side of this solid electrolyte layer 2, and a cathode electrode layer 4 formed on the other side.

As solid electrolyte layer 2 according to the present embodiment, a solid electrolyte 2 a made of yttrium-doped barium zirconate (hereinafter, BZY) having proton conductivity is employed. Above-described anode electrode layer 3 is formed by laminating and sintering proton conductive ceramics, and is configured to serve as an anode electrode. On the other hand, above-described cathode electrode layer 4 according to the present embodiment is formed from lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (hereinafter, LSC).

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing solid electrolyte laminate 1 will be described. FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of a manufacturing process of the solid electrolyte laminate.

In the present embodiment, the above-described solid electrolyte is formed by a solid phase reaction method. First, in order to form solid electrolyte layer 2 made of BZY, 62 wt % of BaCO₃, 31 wt % of ZrO₂ and 7 wt % of Y₂O₃ as raw materials are mixed, and a first grinding step is carried out by ball milling to uniformly mix these raw materials. Thereafter, a first heat treatment step is carried out by heat treatment at 1000° C. for about 10 hours, and further, a second grinding step is carried out by performing ball milling on a powder material having undergone the above-described first heat treatment step. Although the degree of grinding of the materials in the above-described grinding steps is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to perform grinding such that the mean particle diameter of ground powder is less than or equal to 355 μm.

Next, a compression molding step of uniaxially molding the mixed powder having undergone the second grinding step to form a disc-like pressed compact is carried out. In the above-described compression molding step, for example, a cylindrical die having a diameter of 20 mm is used, and a compressive force of 10 MPa is applied in the axial direction, so that a disc-like compact can be formed.

A second heat treatment step of heat treating the above-described pressed compact at about 1300° C. for about 10 hours, thereby dissolving each component powder to uniformly dissolve each component in a dispersed manner is carried out. In solid electrolyte 2 a according to the invention of the present application, in order to enable low-temperature operation, a uniform structure in which the above-described respective components have been uniformly dissolved in a dispersed manner needs to be formed. Therefore, a third grinding step of grinding the compact having undergone the above-described second heat treatment step is carried out. Furthermore, by repeatedly carrying out the above-described compression molding step, the above-described second heat treatment step and the above-described third grinding step in this order according to necessity, a material in which the respective components have been more uniformly dissolved in a dispersed manner can be formed. Whether the above-described respective component powders have been uniformly dissolved in a dispersed manner can be confirmed depending on whether component peak positions of a graph obtained by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) are consisting of peaks derived from BZY.

Having terminated the above-described third grinding step, a second compression molding step of compression molding the ground material in which the respective components have been uniformly dissolved in a dispersed manner is carried out. The second compression molding step according to the present embodiment is to mold the above-described ground material into the form of above-described solid electrolyte layer 2, and a disc-like compact having a thickness of 100 μm to 500 μm is formed by press molding.

As shown in FIG. 5, the above-described compact is sintered by carrying out a sintering step of heat treating at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. for at least 20 hours (T₁) in an oxygen atmosphere, thereby obtaining a disc-like sintered compact constituting solid electrolyte layer 2 of the fuel cell.

As shown in FIG. 3, the above-described solid electrolyte manufactured through the above-described steps shows specific changes in lattice constant in the temperature range of 200° C. to 400° C., as plotted with the symbol “x”. Resulting from the specific changes in lattice constant, the coefficient of thermal expansion also changes. Therefore, when laminating and sintering electrode layers 3 and 4 on solid electrolyte layer 2 which is the solid electrolyte sintered compact manufactured through the above-described steps, large shearing stress is produced between solid electrolyte layer 2 and electrode layers 3, 4 because of the above-described changes in coefficient of thermal expansion, raising problems in that cracks occur in solid electrolyte layer 2 and in that electrode layers 3 and 4 are detached from solid electrolyte layer 2.

In the present embodiment, the third heat treatment step is carried out in order to solve the above-described problems. The above-described third heat treatment step can be carried out by holding disc-like solid electrolyte layer 2 which is the above-described solid electrolyte sintered compact molded by sintering at a temperature of 400° C. to 1000° C. for 5 hours to 30 hours (T₂), as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing changes in lattice constant of a solid electrolyte formed with 20 mol % of yttrium doped thereto, with respect to temperature changes. As plotted with the symbol “o” in FIG. 3, the lattice constant does not specifically change in a temperature range around 400° C. by carrying out the above-described third heat treatment step, so that the rate of increase in lattice constant at 100° C. to 1000° C. with respect to temperature changes can be made substantially constant.

Through electron microscopic observation, the mean diameter of crystal grains in the solid electrolyte having undergone the above-described third heat treatment step was 1 μm. Since crystal grains of the above-described size are obtained, high proton conductivity can be ensured without increase in grain boundary surface density. In the present embodiment, proton conductivity at 400° C. to 800° C. was 1 mS/cm to 60 mS/cm.

The lattice constant of above-described solid electrolyte 2 a at room temperature was 4.223 Å. Because of having the above-described lattice constant, an appropriate doped amount of yttrium as well as absence of specific changes in lattice constant and coefficient of thermal expansion around 400° C. can be confirmed.

It is noted that, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the rate of increase in lattice constant of the above-described solid electrolyte at 100° C. to 1000° C. with respect to temperature changes is approximately 3.8×10⁻⁵ Å/° C., but can be set at a range of 3.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C. to 4.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C. Accordingly, the average coefficient of thermal expansion at 100° C. to 1000° C. can be set at 5×10⁻⁶(1/K) to 9.8×10⁻⁶(1/K).

It is noted that the above-described third heat treatment step can be carried out separately from the above-described sintering step as shown in FIG. 5. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, the above-described sintering step and the above-described third heat treatment step can be carried out sequentially.

Anode electrode layer 3 is formed on one side of the above-described disc-like solid electrolyte having undergone the third heat treatment step, and cathode electrode layer 4 is formed on the other side thereof.

In the present embodiment, Ni—BZY (nickel-yttrium doped barium zirconate) is employed as the anode electrode material constituting anode electrode layer 3. The amount of Ni blended in Ni—BZY can be set at 67 mol % to 92 mol % (in the case of mixing NiO and BZY, the amount of NiO blended can be set at 30 wt % to 70 wt %). It is noted that, for the above-described BZY, powder of the above-described solid electrolyte according to the present embodiment having undergone the third heat treatment is preferably employed. The anode electrode material laminating step can be carried out by grinding and mixing powder made of NiO and BZY with a ball mill and then dissolving it in a solvent to form a paste, and applying the paste to the other side of the above-described solid electrolyte sintered compact by screen printing or the like.

On the other hand, an electrode material made of LSC is employed as the cathode electrode material. As the above-described LSC, a commercial product represented as La_(0.6)Sr_(0.4)CoO_(x) can be employed. The cathode electrode material laminating step can be carried out by dissolving the above-described cathode electrode material in the form of powder into a solvent to obtain a paste and applying the paste to the one side of the above-described solid electrolyte sintered compact by screen printing or the like.

By laminating the above-described electrode materials in predetermined thickness respectively on the front and rear of the disc-like solid electrolyte formed by the above-described manufacturing method, and heating them to a predetermined temperature for sintering, a solid electrolyte laminate can be formed. For example, the above-described material constituting anode electrode layer 3 can be laminated in 50 μm, and the above-described material constituting cathode electrode layer 4 can be laminated in 50 μm. Thereafter, by heating to the sintering temperature of the materials constituting the above-described electrode layers and holding for a predetermined time, solid electrolyte laminate 1 with anode electrode layer 3 and cathode electrode layer 4 formed on the both sides of above-described solid electrolyte layer 2 can be formed. It is noted that the electrode material sintering step of sintering above-described anode electrode layer 3 and the electrode material sintering step of sintering cathode electrode layer 4 can be carried out simultaneously or can be carried out separately.

The temperature required for sintering above-described electrode layers 3 and 4 is approximately 1000° C. In the present embodiment, since above-described solid electrolyte layer 2 has undergone the third heat treatment, the rate of increase in lattice constant with respect to temperature changes is constant in the temperature range of 100° C. to 1000° C. The coefficient of thermal expansion is also constant in correspondence to the lattice constant. Therefore, when forming electrode layers 3 and 4 by sintering, large shearing stress or strain resulting from the above-described difference in coefficient of thermal expansion will not occur at the interfaces of solid electrolyte layer 2 with electrode layers 3 and 4. Therefore, a solid electrolyte laminate can be formed without occurrence of cracks in the solid electrolyte layer and the electrode layers or detachment of the electrode layers. Since internal stress and the like are also prevented from occurring, a solid electrolyte laminate having high durability can be formed.

As described above, above-described solid electrolyte layer 2 a according to the present embodiment has a proton conductivity of 1 mS/cm to 60 mS/cm at 400° C. to 800° C. Therefore, even when a fuel cell including the above-described solid electrolyte laminate is used at a temperature less than or equal to 600° C., sufficient power generation capacity can be ensured. Moreover, since large internal stress and internal strain do not occur between the solid electrolyte layer and the electrode layers, the solid electrolyte laminate has high durability, and it is possible to constitute a fuel cell having sufficient performance at low operating temperatures.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, LSC is employed as cathode electrode layer 4.

FIG. 7 shows performance of solid electrolyte laminate 1 according to the invention of the present application configured by providing cathode electrode layer 4 made of LSC (La_(0.6)Sr_(0.4)CoO_(x)) for a solid electrolyte layer composed of BZY (BaZr_(0.8)Y_(0.2)O_(3−δ)) and performance of comparative examples each obtained by providing a cathode electrode layer made of another material for the above-described solid electrolyte layer composed of BZY. It is noted that FIG. 7 shows evaluations of power generation capacity at 600° C. with each solid electrolyte laminate mounted on a fuel cell power generation evaluating device, H₂ acting on the anode electrode at a water vapor partial pressure of 0.05 atm, O₂ acting on the cathode electrode at a water vapor partial pressure of 0.05 atm, and a gas flow rate being 200 ml/min.

As shown in FIG. 7, it is understood that the laminate produced using LSC is superior to BSCF (barium strontium cobalt iron oxide), LSM and LSCF having been conventionally used in performance of any of voltage, current density and surface power density. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a fuel cell operating in an intermediate temperature range less than or equal to 600° C. and having high performance through use of the solid electrolyte laminate constructed as described above.

In the above-described embodiment, the disc-like sintered compact constituting solid electrolyte layer 2 is formed first, and then electrode layers 3 and 4 are laminated on this disc-like sintered compact serving as a support member, but the manufacturing method is not limited to the above-described method.

For example, a technique for first forming an anode electrode layer 23 shown in FIG. 8 and then successively laminating solid electrolyte layer 22 and cathode electrode layer 24 on this anode electrode layer 23 serving as a support member can be employed. FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of a manufacturing process of a solid electrolyte laminate formed by this technique.

An anode electrode compact to be anode electrode layer 23 can be formed by an anode electrode material preparing step of mixing and grinding BaCO₃, ZrO₂, Y₂O₃, and Ni and an anode electrode molding step of compression molding the above-described anode electrode material to form an anode electrode compact to be the anode electrode layer. In this manufacturing method, since the anode electrode compact (anode electrode layer 23) serves as a support member for solid electrolyte layer 22 and cathode electrode layer 24, the thickness of the anode electrode compact is set large. For example, it is preferably set at approximately 500 μm to 1 mm.

The technique for laminating the solid electrolyte layer on the above-described anode electrode compact can be carried out as follows. That is, the above-described first grinding step, the above-described first heat treatment step, the above-described second grinding step, the above-described first compression molding step, the above-described second heat treatment step, and the above-described third grinding step are carried out to form a ground product of BZY, similarly to the above-described manufacturing method.

Next, a paste forming step of forming the above-described ground product into paste and a solid electrolyte laminating step of laminating the above-described ground product formed into paste on one side of the above-described anode electrode compact are carried out. Since above-described solid electrolyte layer 22 does not serve as a support member in this embodiment, its thickness can be set as small as 10 μm to 100 μm. The above-described solid electrolyte laminating step can be carried out by screen printing or the like.

Then, an anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step of heat treating the laminate molded in the above-described solid electrolyte laminating step at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. for at least 20 hours in an oxygen atmosphere and a third heat treatment step of holding the laminate having undergone the above-described anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step for a predetermined time at a temperature lower than in the above-described anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step are carried out. Similarly to the first embodiment, the above-described anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step can be carried out by heat treatment at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. for at least 20 hours in an oxygen atmosphere. The above-described third heat treatment step can also be carried out by holding at a temperature of 400° C. to 1000° C. for 5 hours to 30 hours (T₂), similarly to the first embodiment.

A cathode electrode material laminating step of laminating a cathode electrode material made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) on one side of a thin-film solid electrolyte having undergone the above-described third heat treatment step and a cathode electrode sintering step of heating to or above the sintering temperature of the above-described cathode electrode material are carried out. The above-described cathode electrode sintering step can be carried out similarly to the above-described embodiment. Above-described solid electrolyte laminate 21 can also be formed through these steps.

The scope of the invention of the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims not by the meaning above, and is intended to include any modification within the meaning and scope equivalent to the terms of the claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

A solid electrolyte laminate that includes a solid electrolyte made of yttrium-doped doped barium zirconate (BZY) having excellent sinterability and proton conductivity as well as a cathode electrode layer made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) well compatible with this and that can exert high performance at a temperature less than or equal to 600° C. can be provided.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1 solid electrolyte laminate; 2, 22 solid electrolyte layer; 2 a solid electrolyte; 3, 23 anode electrode layer; 4, 24 cathode electrode layer. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A solid electrolyte laminate comprising: a solid electrolyte layer having proton conductivity; and a cathode electrode layer laminated on one side of said solid electrolyte layer and made of lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC), wherein said solid electrolyte layer is formed from yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY), and a doped amount of yttrium is 15 mol % to 20 mol %, and wherein the rate of increase in lattice constant of said solid electrolyte layer at 100° C. to 1000° C. with respect to temperature changes is 3.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C. to 4.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C., and a rate of increase in lattice constant at 200° C. to 400° C. with respect to temperature changes being 3.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C. to 4.3×10⁻⁵ Å/° C., wherein said yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY) is a polycrystalline substance containing a plurality of crystal grains, and a mean diameter of said crystal grains is more than or equal to 1 μm.
 2. The solid electrolyte laminate according to claim 1, wherein the lattice constant of said solid electrolyte layer at room temperature is 4.218 Å to 4.223 Å.
 3. The solid electrolyte laminate according to claim 1, wherein proton conductivity of said solid electrolyte layer at 400° C. to 800° C. is 1 mS/cm to 60 mS/cm.
 4. The solid electrolyte laminate according to claim 1, further comprising an anode electrode layer laminated on the other side of said solid electrolyte layer and made of nickel-yttrium doped barium zirconate (Ni—BZY).
 5. A fuel cell comprising the solid electrolyte laminate as defined in claim
 1. 6. A method for manufacturing the solid electrolyte laminate as defined in claim 1, comprising: a first grinding step of mixing and grinding BaCO₃, ZrO₂ and Y₂O₃ to obtain a first mixture; a first heat treatment step of heat treating said first mixture; a second grinding step of grinding the first mixture having undergone said first heat treatment step again to obtain a second mixture; a first compression molding step of compression molding said second mixture to obtain a first compact; a second heat treatment step of heat treating said first compact; a third grinding step of grinding the first compact having undergone said second heat treatment step to obtain a ground product; a second compression molding step of compression molding said ground product to obtain a second compact; a solid electrolyte sintering step of heat treating said second compact at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. for at least 20 hours in an oxygen atmosphere to obtain a sintered compact; a third heat treatment step of holding said sintered compact at a temperature lower than in said solid electrolyte sintering step; a cathode electrode material laminating step of laminating an electrode material made of said lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) on one side of the sintered compact having undergone said third heat treatment step; an anode electrode material laminating step of laminating an electrode material made of nickel-yttrium doped barium zirconate (Ni—BZY) on the other side of the sintered compact having undergone said third heat treatment step; and an electrode material sintering step of heating the sintered compact with said electrode materials laminated thereon to or above a sintering temperature of said electrode materials.
 7. The method for manufacturing the solid electrolyte laminate according to claim 6, wherein said third heat treatment step is carried out by holding at a temperature of 400° C. to 1000° C. for 5 hours to 30 hours.
 8. A method for manufacturing the solid electrolyte laminate as defined in claim 1, comprising: an anode electrode material preparing step of mixing BaCO₃, ZrO₂, Y₂O₃, and Ni; an anode electrode molding step of compression molding an anode electrode material to form an anode electrode compact to be an anode electrode layer; a first grinding step of mixing and grinding BaCO₃, ZrO₂ and Y₂O₃ to obtain a first mixture; a first heat treatment step of heat treating said first mixture; a second grinding step of grinding the first mixture having undergone said first heat treatment step again to obtain a second mixture; a first compression molding step of compression molding said second mixture to obtain a compact; a second heat treatment step of heat treating said compact; a third grinding step of grinding the compact having undergone said second heat treatment step to obtain a ground product; a paste forming step of forming said ground product into paste to obtain paste; a solid electrolyte laminating step of laminating said paste on one side of said anode electrode compact to obtain a first laminate including a thin-film solid electrolyte layer; an anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step of heat treating said first laminate at a temperature of 1400° C. to 1600° C. for at least 20 hours in an oxygen atmosphere; a third heat treatment step of holding the first laminate having undergone said anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step at a temperature lower than in said anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step; a cathode electrode material laminating step of laminating a cathode electrode material made of said lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSC) on one side of the solid electrolyte layer included in the first laminate having undergone said third heat treatment step to obtain a second laminate; and a cathode electrode sintering step of heating said second laminate to or above a sintering temperature of said cathode electrode material.
 9. The method for manufacturing the solid electrolyte laminate according to claim 8, wherein said third heat treatment step is carried out after cooling the first laminate having undergone said anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step to ordinary temperature.
 10. The method for manufacturing the solid electrolyte laminate according to claim 8, wherein said anode electrode-solid electrolyte sintering step and said third heat treatment step are carried out sequentially. 